I’m definitely a morning person. I’ve realized how much I can actually get done first things in the morning, between 5 a.m and 7 a.m. That, for me, is the sweet spot. I honestly get more done in those two hours than I often do the rest (其余的) of the day. I’ve developed a habit that helps me be productive (效率), and it includes what I call the law (定律) of first things. This same law is followed by people far more productive than I am, including Bill Gates, Howard Schultz and Jeff.

Essentially, the law of first things says that whatever you do when you first get up in the morning influences your productivity for the rest of the day. For many of the most productive people, that first thing is often not work. And it shouldn’t be for you either.

Let’s consider the morning habits of these highly productive people. Bill Gates says he starts his day on the treadmill (跑步机), watching educational DVDs. Howard Schultz likes to get up early to exercise, often cycling, before getting started with work. Jeff Bezos, famously, prefers to not have business meetings until around 10 a. m, instead he makes time for other things at home first.

Most of us get out of bed, pick up our phone and immediately start reading emails or our news feeds. That means that from the moment we wake up, we’re already responding (回应) to the outside world instead of creating space for ourselves to allow our bodies and our minds to practice.

That space matters, and whatever you do first sets the direction you go throughout your day. If that thing is responding to an email from someone who feels it is important, you may never get back to the important things you need to do. You should start your day with something other than work. You might end up surprised by how much you get done.

A woman who couldn’t feel hungry after a stroke (中风) may help us improve our understanding of one area of the brain.

The 28-year-old Canadian was in hospital after feeling weak on one side of her body and having trouble speaking. The examination result showed that she had a stroke in a brain area called the insula (脑岛).

Soon after the stroke, the woman noticed that she never felt hungry anymore, even when she hadn’t eaten for a long time. She often forgot to eat and lost more than 10 kilograms.

The woman could still taste and smell the food, but often ate about half as much as usual because she no longer enjoyed eating. Even chocolate, her favorite food, gave her no joy. The woman’s hunger finally came back about 12 months after the stroke.

The insula is one of the least understood parts of the brain. It works with other parts of the brain to make a feeling of hunger that encourages eating. “This woman’s brain would still have been receiving signals(信号) that she was missing calories, but because of the damage (损伤) to her insula, she wouldn’t have noticed them,” says Yoav Livneh at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

This finding could help to find new ways to treat obesity (肥胖). For example, it may be possible to use some ways to send signals to the insula to prevent overeating, Livneh says. He agrees that this is a possibility, but says it will be more important not to damage the insula’s other functions (功能).

Planting a seed (种子) is easy. However, it’s a difficult thing to take good care of a plant. Many people have some problems about how much water plants need. Even some farmers may have similar problems. Luckily, a new thing called GrowStream appeared. It can help them “talk” to their plants.

GrowStream is a watering system (系统). It has special little holes. When plants need water, they will give out some chemicals (化学物质) in the much lower parts of them. If the holes feel these chemicals, they will open. Plants then get water from those holes. As plants “drink” enough water, they don’t give out these chemicals any longer. These holes will be closed by the system, preventing plants from getting too much water.

The main reason why people use this system is that it helps them save 45 to 50 percent more water than traditional watering systems. It has been used for farming in many places in South Africa. Many people have spoken highly of it because it works very well.

GrowStream is more than just a special way to talk with plants, and scientists want to use it to communicate with people, too. The Earth’s natural things might be used up, and we should take better care of the planet through science.